Page 12

Joey

A little over an hour later, we walked into Callum’s rental apartment.

“I can’t believe Erin doesn’t know you’re back yet,” I commented, wandering around the small living area and looking at the items in the bookcases that lined the walls.

The studio apartment was basic but appeared well furnished. Upon entering, I walked past the bathroom, then the bedroom, before I reached the open-plan kitchen and living area. I was surprised to see that there was no door to the bedroom, just a cased opening that sat opposite a small home office setup built into an alcove. Everything was neat and tidy but looked to be well lived in.

After adjusting the thermostat at the entry, Callum dumped his wallet and phone into a tray next to his laptop in the home office before following me into the open living area. “I know I’m like forty-five minutes away from their place, but it’s easy to mislead people a little when you only communicate via phone and video calls. Would you like a hot drink?”

Almost like he’d reminded my body of how cold it was, I rubbed my arms against the still very damp sweater I’d put back on to make it from my car to his apartment. It was still raining, but not as monstrously heavy as it had been when we’d first got soaked. “Yeah, I could do with something warm. What have you got?”

He started rummaging through the cupboards above his sink. “I’ve got cocoa somewhere—ah, here it is.” He pulled the box out and placed it on the kitchen cabinet before grabbing a teaspoon out of the cutlery drawer. He looked over his shoulder at me and noticed me trying to warm up. “The heating will kick in soon, but you should have a shower to get warmed up. I’ll throw our clothes into the washer and dryer if you want to stay and watch a movie?”

I was shocked when I saw the time on the microwave right behind his head stating it was only ten pm. Considering the night we’d had, it felt so much later, but I wasn’t ready to have the night end yet. “Sure. Sounds like a plan.” I headed back towards the entry where the bathroom was. “Have you got some sweats I can wear while I wait?” We were of similar height and build, so I wouldn’t have any issues wearing his clothes. Being wrapped up in his scent, however… That could turn out interesting.

“Yeah. Hold on.” He followed me down the short hallway but ducked into the bedroom while I hovered near the open door. He grabbed a pair of black sweatpants from one drawer in his built-in closet and a gray college sweatshirt from another. Handing me the clothes, he nodded to the bathroom. “There are fresh towels under the sink. If you toss your clothes out the door, I’ll put them in the washing machine once I get the hot cocoa started.”

“Okay.” I made my way to the bathroom, undressed, and cracked the door open to drop my clothes onto the entry tiles with a lewd wet plop before shutting the door. I let the hot water run for a moment before getting into the larger than expected shower and then moaned when I felt the warm water cascading over my tight muscles. Ever so slowly, I felt my body unclench from the chill that I’d been feeling for a couple of hours by that point.

By the time I turned the shower off, my skin was flushed from the heat and I felt relaxed. As I’d expected, Callum’s sweats fit me comfortably, and once I’d picked up my phone and wallet from the bathroom vanity, I opened the door to see Callum standing on the other side wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants.

There was no stopping my eyes from drifting south, and they were not left disappointed to find a perfect dick-print peeking back at me. I felt my cheeks blush as I raised my gaze, only to see him grinning cheekily at me.

“Like something you see, mo lus na gréine ?”

I opened my mouth to respond with something insightful and intelligent, but all my brilliant brain could come up with was, “Ermaghog.”

He laughed. “Our clothes are in the washer now, and there’s a pot of cocoa cooling on the burner in the kitchen. Help yourself while I have a shower, okay?”

Pressing my lips together so I wouldn’t embarrass myself any further, I nodded helplessly and fled to the kitchen, leaving him laughing like a loon behind me.

“Pick something for us to watch?” he called just before he shut the door to the bathroom. “I’m good with whatever.”

I made an affirmative sounding noise while I busied myself with putting my things on the kitchen table and acquainting myself with one of the mugs Callum had kindly left for me on the counter next to the cooktop. A couple of spoons and an already opened bag of marshmallows had been placed right next to the mugs, obviously there for me to use. I smiled to myself, realizing that he’d thought of everything I could want and left it out for me so I didn’t need to go searching.

It felt nice to be taken care of like this.

Once I had the mug full and in hand, I wandered over to stare out the sliding glass door to the balcony. The lightning and thunder had moved on, but there was enough ambient town light to see the rain steadily falling. I wondered if I should check the weather radar to see if it was going to ease up anytime soon, but the warm mug felt too good, and the cocoa was too tasty for me to put it down.

Eventually, I made my way over to the plush two-seater sofa that was butted up under the window. The TV was perched on an entertainment cabinet on the wall opposite, with the bookcases I’d quickly looked over earlier placed in every other wall space that remained.

I settled down on the edge of the sofa, not quite relaxed enough to make myself at home yet, and picked up the TV remote from the coffee table in front of me. Swallowing another mouthful of cocoa, I played with the remote until I found one of the streaming services Callum had on his TV and started scrolling for a movie. Nothing new was really catching my eye, so I began searching for a couple of old favorites before finally settling for a ten-year-old action comedy.

“What are we watching?” Callum asked, walking in wearing a comfortable looking deep green t-shirt with his gray sweatpants while he scrubbed a towel against his hair. He picked up the pot of cocoa and poured himself a cup before tossing the towel over the back of one of the kitchen chairs and making his way over to the sofa to lounge in the seat beside me. He drank at least half the mug before he leaned back, seemingly without a care in the world.

“Something I haven’t seen in a few years.” I motioned to the TV where I’d brought the start menu up. “Not sure if you’ve seen it, even if it’s older.” The much younger face of a now-huge Hollywood star stared back at us from amongst the title of the movie.

He glimpsed at the screen and his face lit up when he saw what I’d selected. “Oh, I remember this one. I saw it with friends when it first came out, but I haven’t seen it since. Let’s do it.”

I pressed play and shuffled back into the sofa, folding my left foot under my right knee. The music of the opening sequence swelled, and I sensed, rather than felt, Callum stretch his arm out along the back of the sofa. Half an hour into the movie and he’d wrapped his arm around my shoulders, coaxing me into his side, and I let my hand rest loosely on his thigh.

The next thing I knew, I was being gently shaken awake.

“ Mo lus na gréine , the movie’s finished,” he murmured quietly, his cheek softly rubbing against the top of my head.

“Wha?” I blinked and tried to focus on the TV, only to see the credits rolling. I wiped my mouth and grimaced when I felt the telltale remnants of drool on my chin. Using his thigh as leverage, I pushed myself up and swallowed a groan when I saw a damp patch on the shoulder of his t-shirt. “Ugh. Sorry.”

Seemingly unbothered, he shrugged and leaned forward to grab the remote to turn the TV off. He shifted in his seat a little so he could face me. “The dryer finished not too long ago, meaning your clothes should be done by now, but it’s still raining pretty heavily outside. Did you want to stay here tonight?”

My eyes widened, and my brain fuzzed out at his question. Was he asking me to sleep in his bed? Did he expect me to have sex with him if I stayed over? Was I okay with that? The thickening of my cock in my borrowed sweatpants led me to believe that yes, my body was fully on board with that plan.

Callum chuckled at my deer-in-headlights expression. “We’ve been sitting on a sofa bed. I can make it up for you to sleep—”

“What if I wanted to sleep with you?” I cut him off mid-sentence. Apparently, my brain hadn’t woken up enough to realize that I shouldn’t be asking these sorts of questions. “I mean,” I sputtered, trying to backpedal when he choked at my words and it was his turn to look like a deer staring down an oncoming vehicle. “A proper mattress would be so much better than a sofa bed. Right? More lumbar support and all that.”

Good God, what the fuck was I saying? Lumbar support?! Brain, meet mouth. It’d be really lovely if you could work together right now.

His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably as his mouth opened and closed in a perfect imitation of a fish out of water. “Um… Yeah?” He shuddered slightly, then inhaled a deep breath and nodded. “Sure. Let’s do that. Okay.”

I stayed seated as I watched him shakily get to his feet, pause, then nod again, before heading off toward the hallway, muttering to himself the entire time. I nibbled my bottom lip and wondered if my tired brain had broken his. Eventually I got up to grab my phone to message Dad that I was staying over at a friend’s place and that I’d be home in time to help with lunch tomorrow. I waited until I received a thumbs up in response before making my way towards Callum’s bedroom.

Just before I got there, he came out and motioned for me to follow him into the bathroom. He rummaged around in the drawer before letting out a sound of triumph as he held out a toothbrush still in its packaging.

“I’ve never been so glad to always have a spare than I am right now,” he said with half a grin.

Curling a hand around the nape of his neck, I leaned forward, lifted the toothbrush from his fingers and kissed him on the cheek, letting my lips linger on his skin so I could whisper into his ear, “Thank you.”

He shivered at my words and let out a puff of air before rumbling in response, “You’re welcome.”

My nose dragged along the ridge of his ear, my teeth nipping at the lobe when I felt his fingers digging into my waist and dragging me closer to him.

He let out a low groan and shuddered once more before letting me go and taking a step backwards while he shook his head. “As much as I love where this is heading, we have to brush our teeth.”

Swallowing down the smirk that tried extremely hard to escape, I nodded and tore into the toothbrush’s packaging. “Of course.”

Something about my tone or the glint in my eye must have clued him in to how amused I was by the situation. He chuckled while shaking his head again, then smacked me on the ass. “Brat.”

Trying my best to ignore the raging erection in my pants that I was sure he could see if he dared to look, I winked at him in the mirror, then loaded up my toothbrush with toothpaste and started brushing. I may have cheekily wiggled my ass a little in his direction, but all credit to him, his eyes never left mine.

We worked our way through our respective nighttime routines, the sexual tension rising steadily as the minutes ticked by. Once I was done, I climbed into his bed and spread myself like a starfish in the middle of the mattress while Callum turned the lights and heating off in the rest of the apartment.

Staring at the ceiling, I listened to him moving around until he stopped at the entry of the bedroom.

“You know, when I said yes to you sharing my bed tonight, I thought I’d at least get a side.”

I turned my head to grin at him, moving my arms and legs around like I was making a snow angel with his sheets. “I was just trying to warm the bed up for you.”

“Sure.” He rolled his eyes, but the amusement at my antics remained on his face. Uncrossing his arms, he made his way around the bed to make sure everything was in its place and the closet doors were shut properly.

“Which side do you want?” I asked, rolling on to my side to watch him. “Which side do you normally sleep on?”

“This side,” he said quietly, pointing to the side closest to the closet. “I like to be able to see the hallway.”

I quirked an eyebrow at his reasoning but shuffled back to the other side of the bed, noting the slight sigh of relief he let out as I moved. The more time I spent with him, the more he intrigued me with his seemingly innocuous habits. He seemed to be a mix of contrasts—serious and stern one moment, then fun-loving and earnest the next. The differences captured my attention more than anything else about him.

Callum turned off the bedside lamp just before he climbed into bed next to me, plunging the room into a shock of darkness. While I waited for my eyes to adjust, I felt him shift in the bed until he finally rolled onto his side to face me, the emerging ambient light letting me see he was resting his head with one hand between his cheek and his pillow. “I set the alarm for nine. Is that okay?”

I nodded. Neither of us was needed at or due to be home until noon at the earliest. I’d learned from previous years that Erin preferred me out of the way while she cooked everything. Having grown up with her, I assumed Callum knew this too, which is probably why he wasn’t worrying about an earlier alarm. “I had a good time tonight, Callum. Even if I fell asleep during the movie.”

He smiled. “Even with getting caught in a sudden storm that drenched us both enough that we nearly died of hypothermia?”

I laughed softly. “Yup.” I reached over the gap that existed between us and traced his nose, tapping the end. “It got me here. In your bed.” I let my fingertip drift down to his mouth, drifting over his plump bottom lip. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you planned the entire night. I mean, other than the poor guy nearly dying at the restaurant and all that.”

With his eyes shining with heat, Callum let his lips separate enough that he could dip the tip of his tongue out to tease my lingering finger, slowly drawing it into his mouth to suck. I felt the pull of his mouth all the way down to my cock, not at all surprised to feel it thickening once more.

I wondered if this was my life now. Perpetually horny for my stepbrother. There were worse things out there to be, weren’t there?

“I want to kiss you.”

His heated eyelids drooped at my words, and he reluctantly let my finger go. “What’s stopping you?”

I chewed my bottom lip nervously but didn’t remove my finger from his lips, tapping the lower one twice. “If I start kissing you, I’ll end up wanting you to fuck me.”

Callum’s gaze turned molten. “You don’t want that?”

“I do, but I’m worried.”

“About what?” he asked, the liquid heat in his eyes dropping to a warm simmer to let me know he was taking my concerns seriously.

I shrugged, my finger gliding softly over his jawline. “We’re stepbrothers. What will our parents think about us getting together?”

Half a smile played on his lips. “They know it’s coming; they just don’t know when.”

My finger paused on its lazy journey. “What do you mean?”

“I talked to them about my vision that night.” He didn’t have to elaborate for me to know which night he was talking about. “They understood why I had to leave.” He chuckled. “I think Barry was impressed that I showed that much restraint.”

I inhaled sharply. “Dad knows?” The memory of eavesdropping on Callum talking to Dad popped into my head and I let out my breath. “Oh, that’s right. Dad knows about your vision, which would mean…”

“He knows that we’ll eventually get together. So does Mam.” He leaned into my finger that was on the move again, tracing his ear. “They’ve had four years to get used to the idea of us being together. If they get upset with us when we tell them we’re together, that’s on them, not us.”

“We’re together? Now?” My finger never stopped moving, tracing his jawline again, back to his chin and down the line of his throat to rest on his pulse point. I wanted this with Callum, but I needed him to say the words.

“I’d like nothing more than for us to be together, mo lus na gréine , but only if you’re ready.”

The beating of his pulse was strong and steady. He meant every word he was saying. “What if I told you I wasn’t ready?”

His face fell, but he rallied enough to say, “Then I’d abide by your decision.” I could feel him grit his teeth, but it felt like the clenching came more from disappointment than anger. “I have faith in what I saw that day. Even if it takes a lifetime, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for you forever. You’re the only one I want, mo lus na gréine . The only one I’ll ever crave.” His voice was gruff but full of emotion.

I felt my eyes fill as I realized I’d never heard anyone speak to me with such heartfelt honesty before. Certainly not Amelia, nor any of the people I’d hooked up with in the past. My palm cupped his cheek, thumb dancing softly below his watery eye. “Oh, Callum. I’ve been ready since we nearly drowned. But I’ve wanted you from the day I first met you.”

He choked on a sob as I surged forward and brought my lips to his, an almost exact repeat of what had happened in the park, but this time there was no downpour to stop us.

Nothing was going to stop us this time.